Scar Tissue
by chaioverdose
Summary: It has been five years since Takeshi and Hayako became guardians of the Vongola famiglia. Growing together, fighting together, looking out for each other- yet never realizing how important the two had become to one another. After one of their battles ends up in Takeshi getting his biggest scar yet- will they finally crack the surface of their true feelings? 80fem!59


It had been five years since Takeshi and Hayako had become the Rain and The Storm of the Vongola famiglia. Over these five years- they had grown together, fought beside each other and inevitably- become attached to each other. But neither of them had yet fully realised this.

The two had just come back from a negotiation with the Costanzas; and as expected from their rival's hatred of the Vongolas- the whole thing turned out to be a trap. But as usual, despite laying out an intricate ploy, they were still no match for the Rain and Storm guardians. However that didn't mean they emerged completely unscathed. Both of them were covered in ash and blood (almost all of which was the enemies'), and there was bound to be an injury or two.

After receiving medical attention, the duo returned to the mansion- both of them evidently worse for wear. They retired to their rooms to sleep. But sleep was the last thing on their minds.

_In Takeshi's room:_

Takeshi lay on the bed in his boxer shorts; his chest wrapped in bandages. It was a big gash and it hurt like hell. But it wasn't the pain he was worried about.

"_Haya-chan...She was already hurt. If I was even a second late, she could have been..."_ his mind was too scared to finish that sentence, and a worried frown marred his face.

His heart always leaped at the mention of the Storm guardian. Over the years, he had silently and steadily grown close to her. He himself never realised how important she had become to him. He was now one of the lucky few that she reserved her smile for- to whom she showed a glimpse of her vulnerability.

He clenched a nearby pillow as his mind got filled with thoughts of her; and a range of conflicting emotions ran through his heart.

_In Gokudera's room:_

Hayako was extremely exhausted, yet she couldn't sleep a wink. Her right forearm was bandaged- it had been severely burned while dodging an attack. But despite being a master of fire, she had been burnt pretty badly.

"_I can't believe I left myself open like that! How could I let some stupid crony, of some stupid famiglia burn me like that?!"_ she thought as she clenched her left fist tightly.

"_And that guy who blindsided me- how could I let my guard down?!"_ her mind screamed as she punched her pillow.

"_And then that stupid baseball freak! Why did he come in between like that?! URGH! And now, HE is hurt!" _

Self-loathing, guilt and anger ran through her head, as she suddenly felt hot tears run down her face. She hated herself for being so stupid; for letting her guard down.

But she hated herself the _**most**_ for letting her stupidity be the cause of Takeshi's injury.

* * *

She walked out of her room and into the hallway. She needed to go somewhere, anywhere; somehow escape her head. As she walked, she heard the door in front of her open, and Takeshi walked out in his shorts. His face looked serious- his brow furrowed, his expression showing no hint of his trademark smile.

Seeing him, the silverette let out a small gasp. The gash on the Rain's chest was clearly evident and she knew she was the cause of it. Takeshi turned to see a wide-eyed Hayako staring at his injury, and he gave a small, awkward laugh.

"Haha, what's up Dera chan? Why are you up so late?" he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

Shaken out of her trail of thought, the Storm replied in a voice which came out softer than she expected, "I can ask _**you **_the same question baseball freak."

She was about to snap at him for calling her that stupid nickname but the tears in her eyes were threatening to fall once more as her eyes again rested on the raven-haired boy's chest.

"Haya chan", Takeshi said in a sober tone, "is something bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?"

He rested his hands on her shoulders and tried to examine the silverette's eyes. It was rare to see the feisty guardian in such a state- he realised it had to be serious.

Meanwhile, the Storm- who had been strong her entire life, suddenly felt helpless. Tears were starting to fall down her cheeks again. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to stop her emotions from taking hold of her- but to no avail.

Takeshi put an arm around her and led her to his room. While he grabbed a chair, Hayako sat on the bed and desperately tried to wipe her tears away. For the few moments that she saw his back turned- she noticed other scars on his back- from the battles over the years. But none of them compared to the one on his chest. The deepest, longest one was the one which existed due to her negligence.

As she felt a fresh tear drop roll down her cheek, she felt a calloused thumb wipe it away. She looked up to see warm brown eyes close to her own. Takeshi gave a small comforting smile and in a quiet voice said, "Haya chan, I know it has to be something big if _**you're**_crying. So tell me- what's up?"

With a slight grimace, the silverette pointed at his chest- "_**That's**_what's up."

"Oh, this?" Takeshi replied, looking down at his bandaged chest, "It doesn't hurt as much as you think haha", he continued as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, but if you hadn't jumped in beside me, you wouldn't be hurt like that. And you wouldn't get such a huge scar!" Hayako replied angrily with all the strength she could muster.

The raven-haired boy's face became solemn, and with a slight frown he replied, "I'd rather have it on _**me**_ than on you."

Hayako was about to give him an earful of obscenities but she felt her eyes welling up again. Before she could reply, Takeshi continued- "You were already hurt badly Haya chan." His voice started growing louder as his eyes became filled with sadness. "If that guy managed to get to you, if you didn't react fast enough, do you… do you realise what could've _**happened**_? You could have ended up in the hospital for weeks... Or a coma! Or even worse...!" he left the sentence unfinished.

Her emerald eyes were now filled with anger and pain. "I could have dealt with him you idiot! I am the Tenth's Right Hand after all!" she screamed.

"Oh yeah? Then what about _**this**_?!" yelled the Rain guardian as he grabbed her right hand, looking down at her forearm. "If_**this**_ could manage to hurt your arm, then I don't even _want to_ imagine how much worse the damage from the other guy would have been!"

Enraged by this statement, the Storm guardian quickly got up, the tears beginning to spill again.

Takeshi, realising how much he'd hurt her with his words, quickly apologised. "I am sorry Haya chan" he said, as he caught her back by the hand. He looked at her- her face turned away from him. "I care about you Haya chan. I care about you _**a lot**_. And seeing you get hurt, to see you being attacked like that- it makes my blood boil. My mind draws a blank and I just..." his voice lowered, "… _react_. To see you injured, to see you in pain or worse- the thought of never seeing you again- it puts me through hell."

Hayako turned to face him; her features now softened but the hurt still clearly there. She gave him a sad smile- "But that" she pointed at the gash, "will always remind me of my own carelessness"

Takeshi got up to face her. "No. It was _**my**_ decision. It is in _**no way**_ your fault at all!" he pulled her closer by the hand and in a low voice continued, "It will heal soon enough into an ugly scar, but-"

Before he could finish, the Storm guardian snapped, "It is _**not**_ ugly! Not by any stretch of imagination. A scar like that is a sign that you fought, you won and you _**lived**_ to stand here today! So it is important you dumbass, especially to me!"

The Rain guardian blinked blankly at her, taking a moment to register her words. In a split second, he gave out his usual cheerful laugh. "Hahaha! Haya chan, you're right!"

He smiled warmly and cupped her face with his hands, bringing it closer to his own. The silverette fell silent as she stared at him in surprise, a deep blush running across her face.

"But personally, I don't care if my entire skin turns to scar tissue as long as you're here- safe and sound." And with that, he kissed her lips softly and pulled her into a warm embrace; neither of them willing to let go anytime soon.


End file.
